Bermudagrass plant TDS-BM1

ABSTRACT

An asexually reproduced variety of bermudagrass with a unique combination of characters including good turf quality, white anthers, fine textured leaf blade, high culm production, and a distinct DNA fingerprint.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

`TDS-BM1` is a new and distinct variety of bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) discovered by me under a heavily trafficked cultivated, mowed turf in a home lawn in Las Cruces, N. Mex. TDS-BM1 spreads rapidly by both stolons and rhizomes. TDS-BM1 is suitable for use as turf on golf course fairways, sports fields, home lawns, industrial sites, and other sites wherever bermudagrasses are adapted. TDS-BM1 was identified for its diminutive growth pattern, finer leaf texture, and persistence under heavy traffic as compared to surrounding bermudagrass. TDS-BM1 was asexually propagated by me in Las Cruces, N. Mex. by cutting of stolons and rhizomes, rooting them in soil, and planting of the rooted stolons and rhizomes to provide planting stock for studying performance and for comparisons with commercial varieties. TDS-BM1 remained stable in both performance and morphological characters after propagation.

A bermudagrass designated C84-135 was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. P.P. 6,278, issued on Sep. 6, 1988. A bermudagrass designated CT-2 was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. P.P. 6,841, issued on Jun. 6, 1989. A bermudagrass designated World Feeder was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. P.P. 7,081, issued on Dec. 19, 1989. A bermudagrass designated Midlawn was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. P.P. 8,162, issued on Feb. 23, 1993. Another bermudagrass designated Midfield was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. P.P. 8,168, issued on Mar. 2, 1993.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

TDS-BM1 is distinguished from other varieties of bermudagrass by the combination of characters of turf performance, shade tolerance, white anthers, leaf texture, culm production, and a distinct DNA fingerprint.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS

FIG. 1-3 are DNA fingerprints of bermudagrass varieties. The RAPD analysis illustrate TDS-BM1 is different from both Tifgreen and Tifway.

FIG. 4 is a photograph of a stolon of TDS-BM1.

COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIETY

TDS-BM1 is a new and distinct variety of bermudagrass that spreads by stolons and rhizomes. TDS-BM1 is a bermudagrass similar in appearance to Tifgreen and Tifway. TDS-BM1 had a mean stolon internode length of 33.3 mm for nodes 2 through 4 with Tifgreen having a mean of 35.8 mm in measurements on greenhouse grown plants. The leaf blade width of the third youngest leaf on TDS-BM1 was 1.99 mm with Tifgreen having a mean of 2.25 mm. The diameter of the third node on a vegetative stolon of TDS-BM1 was 0.87 with Tifgreen having a mean of 0.99.

In trials in Gainseville, Fla., TDS-BM1 was reported as having high seasonal turf quality in 1993 with a mean of 6.87, and was statistically higher in quality than Tifgreen (Table 1). TDS-BM1 was also higher in quality than Tifgreen in 1994 in Florida trials (Table 2). In the 1992 and 1993 NTEP trials in Texas, TDS-BM1 ranked second and first in quality of 26 entries. In color ratings of vegetative bermudagrasses, TDS-BM1 is not statistically different from Tifgreen or Tifway (Tables 3,4). In addition, in the 1992 and 1993 NTEP Trials, TDS-BM1 had a mean color rating of 6.7 in both years. TDS-BM1 has a fine textured leaf blade compared to Midfield, Midlawn, and Midiron (Table 5). In the 1992 NTEP trials (TAES-Dallas), TDS-BM1 was reported to have a statistically finer leaf blade than Midlawn, Midiron, Midfield, Texturf 10, and STF-1 in both 1992 and 1993.

TDS-BM1 has a rapid rate of spread (Table 6). Under shaded conditions, TDS-BM1 maintains higher percent plot cover compared to Tifgreen (Table 7,8). In trials in Mississippi, TDS-BM1 was statistically earlier in greenup than 16 entries in the National Bermudagrass Trial for 1993 and 1994 (Table 9). In the 1993 NTEP report from Mississippi, TDS-BM1 reported the second highest spring greenup rate of 26 varieties at 11 different locations.

TDS-BM1 has the highest number of seedheads in the Florida trials in 1993 (Table 1). TDS-BM1 had the highest seedhead production in trials in Dallas (Table 10-12). TDS-BM1 has white anthers, similar to Tifgreen and Midfield (Table 13).

TDS-BM1 showed lower salt injury than Midiron, Texturf 10, and STF-1 in evaluations of percent shoot salt injury at Texas A&M -Dallas, of the 1992 National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (Table 14). TDS-BM1 showed higher susceptibility to pink snow mold than Midfield, Midiron, or Midlawn (Table 15).

TDS-BM1 shows a distinctly different DNA from Tifgreen using RAPD analysis using a single primer of an arbitral oligonucleotide referred to as JAP 29 (FIG. 1) of JAP 26 (FIG. 2). Both TDS-BM1 and Tifgreen may be distinguished from Tifway using a single primer of an arbitral oligonucleotide referred to as JAP 26 (FIG. 2) and JAP 25 or JAP 27 (FIG. 3).

                  TABLE 1                                                          ______________________________________                                         Seasonal and average estimates of bermudagrass turf quality and                seed head production during the third growing season in 1993 at                Gainesville, FL. (Partial data set)                                            Quality.sup.1                                                                  May-        July-   Sept.-                                                     June        Aug.    Nov.    Average                                                                               Seed Heads.sup.2                            ______________________________________                                         FHB-135 6.6     7.1     6.7   6.90 a*                                                                               1.0 g                                     TDS-BM1 7.1     6.9     7.1   6.87 a 5.1 ab                                    Tifway  6.6     6.6     6.7   6.49 ab                                                                               1.6 e-g                                   Midiron 6.0     6.1     7.3   6.36 a-c                                                                              3.3 c                                     Sultan  6.0     6.1     6.1   6.15 b-d                                                                              2.1 d-g                                   Texturf 10                                                                             6.0     6.0     6.1   6.10 b-e                                                                              1.6 e-g                                   Tifgreen                                                                               6.6     5.8     6.3   6.03 b-f                                                                              4.4 b                                     Midfield                                                                               6.1     5.8     6.2   6.03 b-f                                                                              2.0 d-g                                   Sonesta 6.4     6.0     5.3   5.80 b-g                                                                              2.0 d-g                                   MSD     0.8     0.6     1.3   0.70   1.1                                       ______________________________________                                          .sup.1 Quality visually rated 1 to 9 where 9 equaled best turf quality.        .sup.2 Seed heads visually rated 1 to 9 where 1 equaled no seed heads and      9 equaled many seedheads. Eight ratings throughout the season were             averaged.                                                                      *Means within columns with the same letter are not significantly differen      (P = 0.05) using WallerDuncan kratio ttest.                                    MSD is the minimum significant difference between any two means within         columns which must be exceeded to be significantly different (P = 0.05)        using WallerDuncan kratio ttest.                                               Dudeck, A. E. 1995. NTEP bermudagrass trials in North Florida. In              Turfgrass Research in Florida, ed. J. L. Cisar. University of Florida,         Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Florida Agricultural              Experiment Station, Gainseville, FL.                                     

                  TABLE 2                                                          ______________________________________                                         Seasonal and average estimates of bermudagrass turf quality and                seed head production during the third growing season in 1994 at                Gainesville, FL (data presented for vegetatively planted                       varieties only).                                                               Quality.sup.1                                                                  Mar-        June-   Sept.-                                                     May         Aug.    Dec.    Average                                                                               Seed Heads.sup.2                            ______________________________________                                         FHB-240 8.2     7.4     7.0   7.53 a*                                                                               1.73 g                                    TDS-BM1 7.9     7.3     7.1   7.45 ab                                                                               1.40 g                                    Tifway  6.9     7.8     7.4   7.35 a-c                                                                              1.00 g                                    FHB-227 7.8     7.1     7.1   7.35 a-c                                                                              1.47 g                                    FHB-285 6.8     7.8     7.4   7.31 a-c                                                                              1.00 g                                    FHB-281 6.4     7.0     7.4   6.92 b-d                                                                              1.20 g                                    Texturf 10                                                                             7.2     6.8     6.6   6.86 cd                                                                               1.20 g                                    Midiron 6.8     6.4     6.7   6.67 de                                                                               1.00 g                                    Tifgreen                                                                               6.3     6.9     6.6   6.57 de                                                                               1.53 g                                    MSD     0.7     0.7     0.7   0.57   0.87                                      ______________________________________                                          .sup.1 Quality visually rated 1 to where 9 equaled best turf quality.          .sup.2 Seed heads visually rated 1 to 9 where 1 equaled no seed heads and      9 equaled many seedheads. Thirteen ratings throughout the season were          averaged.                                                                      *Means within columns with the same letter are not significantly differen      (P = 0.05) using WallerDuncan kratio ttest.                                    MSD is the minimum significant difference between any two means within         columns which must be exceeded to be significantly different (P = 0.05)        using WallerDuncan kratio ttest.                                               Dudeck, A. E. 1995. NTEP bermudagrass trials in North Florida. In              Turfgrass Research in Florida, ed. J. L. Cisar. University of Florida,         Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Florida Agricultural              Experiment Station, Gainseville, FL.                                     

                  TABLE 3                                                          ______________________________________                                         Color.sup.1 quality of 1992 NTEP bermudagrasses -                              TAES-Dallas during 1992-3. (Vegetative entries only).                                 Date                                                                             26     20     24                                                               Sept   Jan    Feb  16    26    22                                     Entry    92     93     93   Apr 93                                                                               May 93                                                                               Jun 93                                                                               TPI                              ______________________________________                                         AZ common                                                                               4.7 a  2.0    2.3 a                                                                               5.0   7.0   7.7   2                                FHB-135  3.0    3.0    2.0  7.3 a 8.0   7.3   1                                Midfield 3.7    4.0 a  3.0 a                                                                               8.0 a 9.0 a 8.7 a 5                                Midiron  3.7    4.7 a  2.3 a                                                                               7.3 a 9.0 a 8.3 a 5                                Midlawn  4.7 a  4.0 a  3.0 a                                                                               7.7 a 9.0 a 7.7   5                                STF-1    4.0 a  4.3 a  3.0 a                                                                               8.0 a 8.0   8.3 a 5                                TDS-BM1  3.7    4.0 a  3.0 a                                                                               8.0 a 8.3   8.7 a 4                                Texturf 10                                                                              4.3 a  2.7    3.0 a                                                                               7.7 a 8.0   7.7   3                                Tifgreen 3.0    4.7 a  3.0 a                                                                               8.3 a 8.0   8.3 a 4                                Tifway   3.7    4.3 a  3.0 a                                                                               7.7 a 8.0   8.0 a 4                                MSD entry.sup.2                                                                         1.1    0.8    0.7  1.4   0.7   0.8                                    ______________________________________                                          .sup.1 Color quality was estimated for a range from 1 to 9, where 9 is th      ideal green turf color, and 5 is the minimum acceptable green turf color.      .sup.2 MSD entry = minimum significant difference between entry means,         which is based on the WallerDuncan Kratio ttest (kratio = 100). Means in       the top statistical group are indicated by an `a`.                             Morton, S. J. and M. C. Engelke. 1993. Bermudagrass entries in the             National Turfgrass Evaluation program Trial at Dallas. PR. 5111. In Texas      Turfgrass Research Reports, ed. P. F. Colbaugh and S. P. Metz. Texas A &       University System, College Station, TX, 77843.                           

                  TABLE 4                                                          ______________________________________                                         Color.sup.1 ratings during 1993-4 for the 1992 NTEP bermudagrass               trial planted at TAES-Dallas. (Vegetative entries only).                              1993                  1994                                              Entry    28 July 31 Aug  28 Sept                                                                              27 Oct                                                                               18 Feb                                                                               TPI                                 ______________________________________                                         AZ common                                                                               6.0 a   7.0     6.0   6.0   1.0   1                                   FHB-135  6.3 a   6.0     4.0   5.7   1.0   1                                   Midfield 4.3     8.3     5.0   5.7   1.7   0                                   Midiron  6.0 a   7.0     4.7   4.0   1.7   1                                   Midlawn  5.0     7.0     5.7   5.7   1.7   0                                   STF-1    6.0 a   7.7     5.3   5.3   2.0 a 2                                   TDS-BM1  6.0 a   5.7     5.0   5.7   2.0 a 2                                   Texturf 10                                                                              6.3 a   6.7     5.7   6.0   1.7   1                                   Tifgreen 5.0     6.3     5.0   5.7   1.7   0                                   Tifway   4.7     6.7     5.7   6.0   2.7 a 1                                   MSD entry.sup.2                                                                         0.9     ns      ns    ns    1.0                                       ______________________________________                                          .sup.1 Color ratings were estimated, on a scale of 1 to 9, where 9             represented the darkest green, and 5 was the minimum acceptable color.         .sup.2 MSD entry is the minimum significant difference between the entry       means, which is based on the WallerDuncan kratio t test (kratio = 100).        `ns` indicates that no statistical difference occurred between entry           means. Means in the top statistical group are indicated by `a`.                Morton, S. J. and M. C. Engelke. 1994. 1994 Update for the National            Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) Trial at TAESDallas: 1992 Bermudagras      Trial. PR. 5240. In Texas Turfgrass Research Reports, ed. M. C. Engelke.       Texas A & M University System, College Station, TX, 77843.               

                  TABLE 5                                                          ______________________________________                                         Leaf texture on September 26, 1992 of bermudagrasses in the 1992               NTEP planted at TAES-Dallas. (Vegetative entries only).                        Entry               Leaf Texture                                               ______________________________________                                         AZ common           Medium                                                     FHB-135             Fine                                                       Midfield            Coarse                                                     Midiron             Medium                                                     Midlawn             Medium                                                     STF-1               Medium fine                                                TDS-BM1             Fine                                                       Texturf 10          Medium fine                                                Tifgreen            Fine                                                       Tifway              Fine                                                       ______________________________________                                          Texture was estimated on a scale of 1 to 3, where 3 was the finest leaf        blade and 1 was the coarsest leaf blade.                                       Morton, S. J. and M. C. Engelke. 1994. Bermudagrass entries in the             National Turfgrass Evaluation program Trial at Dallas. PR. 5111. In Texas      Turfgrass Research Reports, ed. P. F. Colbaugh and S. Metz. Texas A & M        University System, College Station, TX, 77843.                           

                  TABLE 6                                                          ______________________________________                                         Turf cover establishment by 1992 NTEP bermudagrasses                           planted on July 14, 1992 at TAES-Dallas.                                              Percent turf cover.sup.1                                                       Date                                                                             9      26     26   23   24   26   22                                  Entry    Aug    Aug    Sep  Oct  Feb  May  Jun  TPI.sup.2                      ______________________________________                                         AZ Com   23     40     98 a 99 a 98   92 a 92   4                              FHB-135  17     19     73   77   80   73   89   1                              Midfield 26     43     98 a 99 a 99   96 a 96 a 5                              Midiron  15     23     83   93 a 97   96 a 95 a 4                              Midlawn  26     45     99 a 99 a 99   96 a 95 a 5                              STF-1    16     28     90 a 99 a 99   96 a 96 a 5                              TDS-BM1  24     53 a   93 a 88 a 87   91 a 94 a 6                              Texturf 10                                                                              18     28     95 a 98 a 99   96 a 96 a 5                              Tifgreen 25     42     99 a 99 a 99   96 a 96 a 5                              Tifway   13     23     80   86 a 88   89 a 93 a 4                              MSD Entry.sup.3                                                                         18     22     14   20   ns   8    83                                  ______________________________________                                          .sup.1 Turf cover is noted as the percent of the plot coverage for each        date.                                                                          .sup.2 TPI = Turf Performance Index, which is the total number of times a      entry occurred in the top statistical group.                                   MSD entry = minimum significant difference between entry means, which is       based on the .sup.3 WallerDuncan kratio ttest (kratio = 100). NS = no          significant difference occurred between entry means. Means in the top          statistical group are indicated by an `a`.                                     Morton, S. J. and M. C. Engelke. 1993. Bermudagrass entries in the             National Turfgrass Evaluation program Trial at Dallas. PR. 5111. In Texas      Turfgrass Research Reports, ed. P. F. Colbaugh and S. F. Metz. Texas A &       University System, College Station, TX, 77843.                           

                  TABLE 7                                                          ______________________________________                                         Turf cover, as percentage of the plot that has turf ground cover,              for bermudagrasses of the 1992 NTEP planted in 90% shade                       at TAES-Dallas.                                                                        Percent Turf Cover                                                             Date                                                                   Entry     11 Nov 93 21 Dec 93  16 Mar 94                                                                               TPI                                    ______________________________________                                         AZ common 15.0      15.0       9.7      0                                      FHB-135   35.0 a    47.7 a     10.7     2                                      Midfield  31.7 a    25.0       12.3     1                                      Midiron   28.3      41.7 a     11.7     1                                      Midlawn   31.7 a    48.3 a     11.7     2                                      STF-1     35.0 a    36.7       10.0     1                                      TDS-BM1   51.7 a    51.7 a     15.0 a   3                                      Texturf 10                                                                               23.3      38.3 a     7.3      1                                      Tifgreen  28.3      30.0       9.0      1                                      Tifway    55.0 a    58.3 a     12.3     2                                      MSD entry.sup.1                                                                          1.8       1.2        1.6                                             ______________________________________                                          .sup.1 MSD entry is the minimum significant difference between the entry       means, which is based on the WallerDuncan kratio t test (kratio = 100).        `ns` indicates that no statistical difference occurred between entry           means. Means in the top statistical group are indicated by `a`.                Morton, S. J. and M. C. Engelke. 1994. Performance of three warmseason         turfgrass genera cultured in shade II. Cynodon dactylon. PR. 5243. In          Texas Turfgrass Research Reports, ed. M. C. Engelke. Texas A & M               University System, College Station, TX, 77843.                           

                  TABLE 8                                                          ______________________________________                                         Turf cover, as percentage of the plot that has turf ground cover,              for bermudagrasses of the 1992 NTEP planed in 90% shade at                     TAES-Dallas.                                                                             Percent green turf cover                                                       1993                                                                 Vegetative Entry                                                                           7 May   8 June   9 July                                                                               3 Aug TPI.sup.1                             ______________________________________                                         AZ Common   43      18       33    33    --                                    FHB-135     57 a    53 a     72 a  53 a  4                                     Midfield    50      47 a     62    48    1                                     Midiron     50      50 a     58    45    1                                     Midlawn     60 a    43 a     70 a  50    3                                     STF-1       53 a    33       52    43    1                                     TDS-BM1     63 a    55 a     80 a  63 a  4                                     Texturf 10  50      38       60    47    --                                    Tifgreen    53 a    30       55    42    1                                     Tifway      63 a    55 a     73 a  53 a  4                                     MSD entry.sup.2                                                                            13      14       14    12                                          ______________________________________                                          .sup.1 TPI = turf performance index, which was the number of times an          entry occurred in the top statistical group.                                   .sup.2 MSD entry  minimum significant difference between entry means for       comparison within a column, which is based on the WallerDuncan kratio          ttest (Kratio = 100). Means in the top statistical group are designated b      an `a`.                                                                        Morton, S. J. and M. C. Engelke. 1993. Performance of three warmseason         turfgrass genera cultured in shade. II. Cynodon dactylon. In Texas             Turfgrass Research Reports, ed. P. F. Colbaugh and S. F. Metz. PR5138.         Texas A & M University System, College Station, TX, 77843.               

                  TABLE 9                                                          ______________________________________                                         Spring green-up ratings of the National Bermudagrass Test - 1992.              (Mississippi State University).                                                                                 2 year                                        Entry          1993     1994     average                                       ______________________________________                                         Midiron        6.4.sup.1                                                                               5.7      6.1                                           TDS-BM1        6.4      5.7      6.0                                           Tifgreen       6.6      5.2      5.9                                           Midfield       6.7      5.0      5.9                                           Tifdwarf       6.3      4.9      5.6                                           Tifway         6.3      4.8      5.6                                           Guymon         5.7      5.1      5.4                                           Texturf 10     5.9      4.9      5.4                                           STF-1          6.1      4.3      5.2                                           ZPS-B1         5.3      5.0      5.1                                           Midlawn        5.7      4.4      5.1                                           J-27           4.9      5.2      5.1                                           FHB-135        5.9      3.8      4.8                                           OKS 91-11      4.9      4.6      4.7                                           MSB-40         5.2      4.1      4.6                                           90173          3.5      5.6      4.5                                           AZ Com.-veg    4.7      4.7      4.1                                           J-192          4.0      4.2      4.1                                           FMC 5-91       3.1      4.9      4.0                                           FMC 6-91       2.7      4.9      3.8                                           FMC 2-90       2.9      4.7      3.8                                           OKS 91-1       2.7      4.6      3.6                                           Cheyenne       2.4      4.7      3.6                                           Sundevil       2.3      4.8      3.5                                           Sonesta        2.2      4.8      3.5                                           FMC 3-91       2.1      4.8      3.4                                           AZ Com.-seed   2.2      4.3      3.4                                           Sahara         2.1      4.6      3.3                                           FMC 1-90       1.8      4.7      3.3                                           Mean           4.4      4.8      4.6                                           LSD (0.05)     0.7      0.7      1.2                                           ______________________________________                                          .sup.1 9 = completely green, 1 = brown                                         Philley, H. W., J. V. Krans, J. M. Goatley, Jr., and V. L. Maddox. 1994.       Update on the National Bermudagrass Tests1992 at MSU. In Missisissippi         Turfgrass Research Progress Report  1994. Bulletin 274. Miss Agric &           Forestry Exp St. Mississippi State, MS 39762.                            

                  TABLE 10                                                         ______________________________________                                         Seedhead production during 1993 for the 1992 NTEP bermuda-                     grass trial planted at TAES-Dallas. (Vegetative entries only).                            Seedhead Density.sup.1                                                         Date                                                                Entry        8 Jun 93  23 Aug 93   Mean                                        ______________________________________                                         AZ common    1.0       1.3         1.2                                         FHB-135      0.0       1.0         0.5                                         Midfield     2.7       0.0         1.3                                         Midiron      2.7       0.3         1.5                                         Midlawn      1.7       0.3         1.0                                         STF-1        5.3       0.3         2.8                                         TDS-BM1      7.3 a     2.7 a       5.0 a                                       Texturf 10   1.7       0.7         1.2                                         Tifgreen     4.7       0.7         2.7                                         Tifway       1.7       0.3         1.0                                         MSD entry.sup.2                                                                             1.8       1.2         1.6                                         ______________________________________                                          .sup.1 Seedhead density estimated on a scale of 1-9, where 9 represents        highest seedhead density.                                                      .sup.2 MSD entry is the minimum significant difference between the entry       means, which is based on the WallerDuncan kratio t test (kratio = 100).        `ns` indicates that no statistical difference occurred between entry           means. Means in top statistical group are indicated by `a`.                    Morton, S. J. and M. C. Engelke. 1994. 1994 Update for the National            Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) Trial at TAESDallas: 1992 Bermudagras      Trial. PR. 5240. In Texas Turfgrass Research Reports, ed. M. C. Engelke.       Texas A & M University System, College Station, TX, 77843.               

                  TABLE 11                                                         ______________________________________                                         Seedhead production during 1993 for the 1992 NTEP bermuda-                     grass trial planted at TAES-Dallas. (Vegetative entries only).                            Seedheads/sq. inch                                                             Date                                                                Entry        6 July 93 4 Nov 93   Mean                                         ______________________________________                                         AZ common    0         7          4                                            FHB-135      3         0          2                                            Midfield     11        0          6                                            Midiron      2         1          1                                            Midlawn      0         0          0                                            STF-1        7         26 a       16 a                                         TDS-BM1      46 a      0          23 a                                         Texturf 10   1         6          4                                            Tifgreen     13        0          7                                            Tifway       0         0          0                                            MSD entry.sup.1                                                                             9         12         13                                           ______________________________________                                          .sup.1 MSD entry is the minimum significant difference between the entry       means, which is based on the WallerDuncan kratio t test (kratio = 100).        `ns` indicates that no statistical difference occurred between entry           means. Means in the top statistical group are indicated by `a`.                Morton, S. J. and M. C. Engelke. 1994. 1994 Update for the National            Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) Trial at TAESDallas: 1992 Bermudagras      Trial. PR. 5240. In Texas Turfgrass Research Reports, ed. M. C. Engelke.       Texas A & M University System, College Station, TX, 77843.               

                  TABLE 12                                                         ______________________________________                                         Culm production on June 8 (visual) and July 6, 1993 (count)                    by 1992 NTEP bermudagrasses planted at TAES-Dallas.                            (Vegetative entries only).                                                                      8 June      6 July                                            Entry            Visual.sup.1                                                                               Count.sup.1                                       ______________________________________                                         Midfield         2.7 d-g*    11.3 bc                                           Midlawn          1.7 e-h     0.0 d                                             Tifgreen         4.7 bc      1.3 d                                             STF-1            5.3 b       6.7 b-d                                           Texturf 10       1.7 e-h     0.0 d                                             Midiron          2.7 d-g     2.0 d                                             TDS-BM1          7.3 a       46.3 a                                            Tifway           1.7 e-h     13.3 b                                            AZ common        1.0 gh      0.3 d                                             FHB-135          0.0 h       3.0 cd                                            ______________________________________                                          .sup.1 Visual = 1-9, where 9 = most seed heads. Count = number/80.6 cm sq      *Means with the same letter were not significantly different, based on th      WallerDuncan kratio ttest (kratio = 100).                                      Morton, S. J. and M. C. Engelke. 1993. Bermudagrass entries in the             National Turfgrass Evaluation program Trial at Dallas. PR. 5111. In Texas      Turfgrass Research Reports, ed. P. F. Colbaugh and S. F. Metz. Texas A &       University System, College Station, TX, 77843.                           

                  TABLE 13                                                         ______________________________________                                         Anther color on June 8, 1993 of 1992 NTEP bermudagrasses                       planted at TAES-Dallas.                                                        Entry               Anther color                                               ______________________________________                                         Midfield            W.sup.1                                                    Midlawn             PW                                                         Tifgreen            W                                                          STF-1               P                                                          Texturf 10          P                                                          Midiron             K                                                          TDS-BM1             W                                                          Tifway              K                                                          AZ common           K                                                          JFHB-135            --                                                         ______________________________________                                          .sup.1 Color is designated as P = purple, W = white, and K = pink. Entrie      that produced no flowers are indicated by `--`.                                Morton, S. J. and M. C. Engelke. 1993. Bermudagrass entries in the             National Turfgrass Evaluation program Trial at Dallas. PR. 5111. In Texas      Turfgrass Research Reports, ed. P. F. Colbaugh and S. F. Metz. Texas A &       University System, College Station, TX, 77843.                           

                  TABLE 14                                                         ______________________________________                                         Percent shoot salt injury over six rating dates of 26                          bermudagrasses included in the 1992 National                                   Turfgrass Evaluation Program trial -TAES-Dallas.                               Vegetative                                                                               23     27      6    13    24   13                                    Entry     Oct    Oct     Nov  Nov   Nov  Dec  TPI.sup.1                        ______________________________________                                         Tifway    0 a    37 a    46   45 a  71   68 a 4                                Midlawn   7 a    47      43 a 36 a  75   71 a 4                                Tifgreen  0 a    33 a    30 a 32 a  56 a 72 a 6                                TDS-BM1   0 a    32 a    37 a 37 a  66 a 73 a 6                                FHB-135   6 a    33 a    32 a 33 a  62 a 75 a 6                                Midfield  0 a    47      50   52    76   80   1                                Ariz.Com  0 a    43      41 a 47    86   83   2                                Midiron   37     72      52   51    81   84   0                                Texturf 10                                                                               12     48      55   53    85   88   0                                STF-1     0 a    32 a    46   43 a  77   93   3                                MSD entry.sup.2                                                                          9      13      16   14    11   10                                    ______________________________________                                          .sup.1 TPI = turf performance index, which was the number of times an          entry occurred in the top statistical group.                                   .sup.2 MSD entry  minimum significant difference between entry means for       comparison within a column, which is based on the WallerDuncan kratio          ttest (Kratio = 100). Means in the top statistical group are designated b      an `a`.                                                                        Marcum, K. B., M. C. Engelke, S. J. Morton, and C. Dayton. 1993. Salinity      tolerances of selected bermudagrass and zoysiagrass genotypes. In Texas        Turfgrass Research Reports, ed. P. F. Colbaugh and S. F. Metz. PR5140.         Texas A & M University System, College Station, TX, 77843.               

                  TABLE 15                                                         ______________________________________                                         Pink snow mold tolerance during winter 1993-4 for the 1992                     NTEP bermudagrasses planted at TAES-Dallas.                                                      Pink Snow mold %.sup.1                                       Entry             7 Mar 1994                                                   ______________________________________                                         AZ common         98 a                                                         FHB-135           75                                                           Midfield          82 a                                                         Midiron           94 a                                                         Midlawn           73                                                           STF-1             83 a                                                         TDS-BM1           77                                                           Texturf 10        98 a                                                         Tifgreen          89 a                                                         Tifway            92 a                                                         MSD entry.sup.2   21                                                           ______________________________________                                          .sup.1 Percentage is area of the plot without snow mold injury.                .sup.2 MSD entry is the minimum significant difference between the entry       means, which is based on the WallerDuncan kratio t test (kratio = 100).        `ns` indicates that no statistical difference occurred between entry           means. Means in the top statistical group are indicated by `a`.                Morton, S. J. and M. C. Engelke. 1994. 1994 Update for the National            Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) Trial at TAESDallas: 1992 Bermudagras      Trial. PR. 5240. In Texas Turfgrass Research Reports, ed. M. C. Engelke.       Texas A & M University System, College Station, TX, 77843.               

DETAILED SUMMARY OF DNA FINGERPRINT ANALYSIS

Takefumi Omura of Japan Turfgrass Inc. performed the DNA fingerprint analysis. The bermudagrass DNA fingerprints were TDS-BM1, Tifgreen, and Tifway. The DNA fingerprints were produced by extractions from the leaf tissue of the vegetatively propagated clones. The results of the DNA fingerprint analysis are summarized:

TDS-BM1 shows a distinctly different DNA from Tifgreen using RAPD analysis using a single primer of an arbitral oligonucleotide referred to as JAP 29 (FIG. 1) or JAP 26 (FIG. 2). Both TDS-BM1 and Tifgreen may be distinguished from Tifway using a single primer of an arbitral oligonucleotide referred to as JAP 26 (FIG. 2) and JAP 25 or JAP 27 (FIG. 3).

REFERENCES

National Bermudagrass Test-1992. Progress Report 1992. National Turfgrass Evaluation Program. USDA-ARS, Beltsville Agric. Research Ctr. Beltsville, Md. 20705.

National Bermudagrass Test-1992. Progress Report 1993. National Turfgrass Evaluation Program. USDA-ARS, Beltsville Agric. Research Ctr. Beltsville, Md. 20705. 

I claim:
 1. A new and distinct cultivar of bermudagrass plant, substantially as herein illustrated and described, characterized particularly by rapid vegetative establishment, superior shade tolerance, distinct DNA fingerprint; diminutive growth pattern, and white anthers. 